Loki: The Life and Times of a God
by get in loser
Summary: Several short stories about Loki and his childhood. It explores his relationships between Thor, Frigga, and Odin, why he is the way he is, and he learned some of his tricks. (Not updating anymore)
1. Chapter 1

Age 9

"Loki," Thor whined. "Come on. You don't even have to be the bad guy this time."

"I already told you, Thor, I don't want to play." The younger boy sighed and placed a bookmark between two pages. "Why don't you ask one of the rat chasers to play with you or see if Vladimir is home and play with him."

Loki had been the victim of his brother's whining, day after day of asking him to play when all he wanted was to finish his studies. Thor had received wooden swords for his birthday and had insisted that someone play with him. It's not very fun capturing an enemy that doesn't exist and Thor never had a great imagination anyway. Why would he? He had a brother.

"Vladimir doesn't want me over when that lady is there and that's a lot so a lot of times I can't go there plus the rat chasers are mean to me and sometimes pull my hair when adults aren't around!" The blond pouted at the memory of his hair being tugged this way and that by several boys with dirty hands. He had to wash his hair five times before he felt better.

"What about Sif? She doesn't have ladies over and she won't pull your hair unless you've been dumb. Plus she's better at swords than me."

Now Loki had a new book open, a long and boring one about different wars and rulers and there was a whole section on just his dad. He started to read as Thor went on and on about how Sif was busy with her other friends and archery practice and she had to go visit her grandmother who was on the other side of the castle and other things that Loki tuned out. As Thor continued his run-on sentence, which would make any scholar cringe, Loki noticed something. His mother was nowhere in this book about important history. _She's done more important things than Father!_ he thought. _He hardly does anything; just sits around and occasionally kills bad guys._ This of course wasn't true, but he didn't know what his father did exactly and had only seen him sitting on that huge throne and come back home in bloody armor.

Loki's eyes widened at a thought he had. _If I'm king, then I'll only do what Father does! I'll be as lazy as him_. He glanced at Thor, who was still talking but on a completely different subject. _No_, Loki corrected himself_, I will do the important stuff and Thor can be the lazy one_. He was, after all, that spitting image of Father. Yes, Loki would be the brains behind it all and Thor can do the sitting and fighting. It would be perfect. He loved Thor, but he could be pretty dumb sometimes, especially when it came to politics and ruling and stuff.

He shut the book just in time to hear Thor's fascinating story about the one-eyed cat he found yesterday behind some bakery. Loki hopped off the window seat, leaving the book behind. He began to push Thor out the door (it was a great struggle) and handed him the wooden swords he had set down while he was talking.

"Thor I don't need to practice swords anymore. I have decided that _you_ will fight and _I_ will be smart and political."

Thor made a face. "What?"

Loki sighed. "You will be like Father and I will be like Mother when we are kings."

It always frustrated the young god when Thor didn't understand, especially when Loki had already explained it. (The problem was in Loki; he was horrible at making things understandable.)

Before Thor opened his mouth to ask more questions, Loki shut and locked the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Age 15

There was a rapid knocking on Loki's door followed by the rattling of the doorknob.

"Loki!" a voice scolded outside his door. "You're late for your fencing lessons! Your father won't be happy if he finds out you've been skipping again."

"Alright, alright! I'll be right out, Ms. Carthy just give me a minute!" Loki rolled his eyes as he slipped on his outdoor shoes. "Old hang," he muttered.

He stood still, thinking for a moment that she heard him and would bust down the door to cane him. But she was old and the walls were thick. So the young prince continued to lace up his boots. When he was done he grabbed his leather-bound book and opened up the shutters. A cool breeze made raven-black hair dance around the boy's head. He smiled and climbed out onto the roof, closing the shutters behind him.

The young god carefully made his way down the tall walls, occasionally slipping a few inches before taking in a deep breath and continuing down. He jumped off a few feet above ground and looked over both shoulders. Nothing was behind him except for a small, black kitten. Feeling safe again, he walked on, ducking behind walls when someone he knew walked past. The book he brought was close to his chest, like he was afraid someone would try to take it away. No one would, not even the mean boys who chased rats up and down the streets. Loki was a prince after all.

It took him about an hour to get to the fields, a wide area of tall grass and wild flowers. Bees buzzed softly around the flowers and Loki's head. The teen smiled and sat down on a tree stump. He opened his book and pulled out an ink pen from a pocket inside his cape. On the next blank page he drew the cluster of tulips in front of him. They were beautiful, three of them red and one of them blue. He plucked the blue one from the ground and pressed it between the next two pages.

For a few more hours Loki wandered about the fields, drawing bees and butterflies and flowers and the occasional doodle of Thor with exaggerated features. The sun had set a while ago, the moon and stars giving him a dim light, like a candle burning alone at night. It was enough to guide him safely back home.

Before heading to the castle, Loki visited Heimdall at the Bifrost like he had done many times in his outings. He liked Heimdall; he was smart and taught him many things about the nine realms and the universe. It was nice to be taught something Loki actually wanted to learn. Color sparked under his small feet as he walked towards the gatekeeper, making the night a little brighter around him. The boy waved to the guardian but he did not wave back or smile or nod to acknowledge his presence. Loki's steps slowed; he knew he was in trouble, but not with Heimdall.

"You stayed out too long, young prince." His voice seemed to echo around Loki. "Your mother is very worried about you."

"And what of Father? Does he not miss me or does he just not know I'm gone yet?" He stomped his foot in childish anger. _Of course it was Mother who worried_, he thought. _It was always Mother. I could be gone for weeks and Father wouldn't even notice._ Loki held his chin up and bit his lip to keep it from quivering.

"Odin worries. He just does not worry in a way for many to see. Go home now, Loki. And it would be best to get rid of all your anger now before you take it out on Odin."

Loki sighed and turned on his heel, walking briskly back home. Several young guards snickered at the young prince, only to be shut up by a quick glare. He continued on down a long hallway, the heels of his boots filling the silence with soft clicks.

Grand doors swung open and pillars stood tall on both sides of the room. On the other side sat Odin. Frigga got up from her seat beside him, meeting her son halfway. She wrapped her strong arms around Loki, brushing hair out of his face.

"Loki, son, are you alright?"

Worry lines spread across her face like blood in water. Frigga held Loki's face delicately between her hands, like it might crack if she wasn't careful. She was always very gentle with her children, but was extra gentle with Loki, ever since he was a baby.

Loki waved her hands way from his face, looking down at the floor in embarrassment. "I'm fine, Mother. You don't need to dote on me; I'm not a child anymore."

As soon as the words left his lips, Loki felt a stab of regret. Frigga stepped back, hiding the hurt with a calm expression.

"I'll leave you to talk to your father then."

Loki bit the inside of his cheeks, wanting to do nothing more than chase after his mother and hug her and apologize until his mouth was swollen. But Odin had already gone through the trouble of standing up. The old man leaned on his staff, from an injury to his knee that still had to heal. The prince opened his mouth to say something, an apology, and excuse, anything. But the Allfather raised a hand to silence him.

"Your mother and I—"

"No," Loki interrupted, "_just Mother._ It's always been just Mother."

"What do you think I do when you're gone? I worry, just like any father would!"

"You wait patiently on your throne for me to come back and when I do all you do is look down at me and wonder, 'Why isn't he more like Thor?'!" A single tear betrayed him and slipped quietly down his cheek. "I know that's what you think…every time you look at me you wonder what you did wrong, why…why am I not a picture-perfect prince." His voice dropped down low, along with his calm visage. He sucked in quick breaths to keep his tears in.

"Don't make this about Thor. This is about you and your inconsideration for myself, for your mother! She was worried sick over you."

"It's funny…whenever we have this kind of fight it's never about how I make you feel. It's always about how I make _Mother_ feel; how I make _Thor_ feel. Hell, even how I make the damn _dogs_ feel. Never you. It's like you…like I have no impact on you whatsoever. Like if I vanished, you'd be worried over where to dump my belongings; in a sewer or in the hunting dogs' pen?"

Loki shook his head and closed his eyes. Tears were rolling down his cheeks steady as rain drops. He shook his head again and ran in the direction of his room. The god slammed the door shut behind him, locking it and pushing a chair in front of it. Loki lay on his side with his knees tucked in. He hugged a plump pillow and sobbed almost silently into it.

After the tears were all gone and his eyes were puffy and red, there was a soft knock on the door. Loki moved the chair with a flick of his wrist and said in a raspy voice, "Come in."

Frigga stood in the doorway like she always did, silently asking for permission to come in. Her son nodded weakly and slowly sat up, still hugging the pillow. Frigga sat down next to him and let him lean on her shoulder while she rubbed his back in the way mothers do.

And they sat in silence for a long time until Loki fell asleep with his head in her lap.


	3. Chapter 3

Thor declares war on Loki.

* * *

Age 12

"Fire all cannons on my mark!"

By cannons, of course, Loki meant sling shots with pebbles as ammo. His army was great, all the kitchen boys and the younger siblings of the maids were at his command. Thor had a smaller army, but what he lacked in numbers, he made up with strength. Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif were on the front lines among the other worthy fighters.

It was war. Thor declared it loudly before supper when Loki turned half of his awesome stick Thor found (he wasn't powerful enough to turn the whole thing) into a mighty python. It had gotten a hold of the teen's cloak and ripped it noticeably. Loki laughed and laughed until he fell over, clutching his sides before he turned it back into a whole stick. The older god stomped his foot childishly as his face turned bright red.

Loki stopped his snickering and waved his hand dismissively. "It was just a joke. Like when we put those spiders in the guard's beds." The young god couldn't help but smirk at the thought of his last large-scale prank. It truly was a great day. "Don't be a sour kitten just because the joke is on you. If it was on one of the guards or Volstagg or something, you would be laughing more than I."

But Thor, like his father at his age, would not forgive for this (somewhat lame) prank. He needed revenge. But not then, because Frigga was near and he didn't want his ear to be tugged.

Pebbles flew across the sky, hitting the enemy's face like large raindrops. Occasionally someone would get hit in the eye and sat out by the creek or would stumble over a rock or get a splinter and join the kid who got hit in the eye. It was a truly graceful yet tragic battle. This went on for a while, until the kitchen boys were called to do their chores or the maids' siblings got tired and were ready for dinner. One by one they left, leaving Thor and Loki alone with their slingshots still at the ready. Thor was the first to set his down on a tree stump and flop down on his back. His brother sat down next to him, tall grass tickling his ears. A firefly landed on his nose, its butt glowing proudly on the god's face.

Thor carefully took the bug off Loki's face, holding it gently in cupped hands. It walked along his fingers and across his palm. Several more fireflies whizzed around his head, one even got stuck in his hair. Loki carefully dived in the labyrinth of spun gold and pulled the poor creature out. The firefly walked up his arm until it got to Loki's neck. It buzzed around his head once and flew away.

Loki had never gone camping before, a young prince has no time for such useless things, but he always dreamt of running away for a day and go with Thor. This would be as close as he could get. There were not tents or bonfires to share stories with. No woods to explore or small creatures to hunt. In Loki's mind, this was better. Sometimes, as his mother had often told him, things go better without a plan. The young god usually ignored that and came up with a plan whenever he could. Like when he planned the ambush at nightfall (which failed because all his soldiers had to eat supper) or when he planned to 'borrow' Thor's desert tomorrow night. But with this it was fine, nice, in fact, to not have to schedule everything in an already too tight agenda.

The stars were out now, and Loki was sure that when they got home Odin would be furious. But it was hard for Loki to care; he was so focused on figuring out which were stars and which were fireflies. Thor was busy getting all those damn bugs out of his hair. With the moonlight and the butts of hundreds of fireflies, Thor's hair looked even more like gold. It reminded Loki of that fairytale with that girl in the tower with unrealistically long hair.

"Thor, what would you do if you had to live in a tower with only a window at the very top?"

Thor cocked his head, most of the fireflies flying away at the sudden movement. "I would grow out my hair and then climb down it and probably find Mother because my hair grows slowly and she would miss me I think." He nodded shortly after finishing, like he was confirming to himself that that's what he would do. "What would you do?"

Loki pursed his thin lips together, thinking. "I would find something to break down the walls, probably. Or tie my sheets together and make a rope to climb down on. And then I would find you and Mother I suppose."

Thor smiled largely and hugged his brother tightly. Loki made a grunt in surprise, but did not squirm or protest, so Thor continued to hug his beloved brother.

They stayed like that for a long time until they fell asleep under the stars and fireflies. There would be a ceasefire until morning when the two armies came back. Or maybe there would be a ceasefire until they forgot what they were fighting about.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, I'm really sorry but I won't be posting any more chapters of this. I'll still keep it up though in case anyone wants to read it. Maybe someday I will update this, but if I do it won't be for a long while.


End file.
